Here are five tips for anyone filing a claim for SSD or SSI benefits. Whether you do it online, or seek our help at the beginning, the steps are the same.
Remember, there is no point in waiting till you are denied to seek legal help. The fee is the same no matter when we start working – 25% of any back benefit we get for you up to a maximum of $6000. Note that the attorney will be paid only out of your past-due benefits, or “backpay.” If no back-dated benefits are awarded, the attorney will not receive a fee.
- Be ready with those doctors names and addresses and a list from your pharmacy of medications – it makes the process less stressful. Same for your work history.
- Gathering your medical records together yourself could help move things along, although sometime Social Security wants to get records themselves, easier these days with electronic records.
- Get your pain and other symptoms on record, so that Social Security can take this into consideration. It’s important to mention all your symptoms each time you visit your doctor, so that this is a clear part of your medical record.. Do not try to minimize your symptoms, your conditions, or how they affect your ability to do normal daily activities. This is a moment, briefly, to talk about your worst day, not to be brave and “push through.”
- Combination of impairments: Always list every one of your medical conditions, physical or mental. Disability cases are often won on the basis of several combined conditions, including depression because you are so ill. Your various symptoms can go a long way toward establishing just how functionally limited you are. And that is what Social Security is really looking at – a diagnosis of an underlying disease plus functional impairment.
- A strong written statement from your doctor can have a very positive influence on your case. These are often not easy to get, but be persistent and ask that functional impairments be included.